Kid Cudi

2009–2010: Man on the Moon and Man on the Moon II

In late 2008, Cudi was revealed to be included in XXL's 2009 annual Freshman Class. He was featured on the cover alongside fellow up-and-coming rappers Asher Roth, Wale, B.o.B, Charles Hamilton, Cory Gunz, Blu, Mickey Factz, Ace Hood and Curren$y. On February 17, 2009, he appeared on Snoop Dogg's MTV talk show Dogg After Dark, performing "Day 'n' Nite" at the end of the show. Two days later on February 19, 2009, Cudi appeared on BET's 106 & Park, alongside Kanye West to debut the music video of "Day 'n' Nite". On February 25, 2009, Cudi self-leaked a teaser trailer for the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen film, using his song "Sky Might Fall" in the background; later he posted that he made the trailer himself and was in talks to possibly making it official.

In February 2009, Kid Cudi also made a cameo appearance next to Solange in the video for her song "T.O.N.Y.". On March 16, 2009, Kid Cudi performed on mtvU's Spring Break special, and the following day he performed three songs on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly. Cudi teamed up with partner and record producer Emile Haynie, to produce an exclusive single titled "Switchin Lanes", for the video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles, part of its "South Central Premium Upgrade" downloadable content (DLC), which came out March 19, 2009, for the PlayStation 3 and March 27, 2009, for the Xbox 360. He has also appeared as a musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live! In June 2009, he made a cameo in Black Eyed Peas' video for "I Gotta Feeling", alongside David Guetta, where the two met for the first time and subsequently recorded their international hit "Memories". In 2009, he had also been on two magazine covers, Complex (August/September 2009) and URB (August 2009).

He revealed information about his future plans via his blog, saying that a possible collaborative album with Chip tha Ripper could be followed with a collaborative project with electronic rock duo Ratatat. On May 5, 2009 Iranian-American progressive house DJ Sharam, released "She Came Along", the lead single from his debut studio album, Get Wild (2009). The song, featuring Cudi, charted for 15 weeks on the Bulgarian Singles Top 40. It entered the chart on position 40 on week 30/2009, and its last appearance was on week 44/2009. It peaked at number 11, where it stayed for one week.

During the summer of 2009, Cudi joined fellow up-and-coming rappers Asher Roth and B.o.B, for 'The Great Hangover' concert tour.

In late 2009, Kid Cudi was featured on the highly anticipated Jay-Z album The Blueprint 3, on the song "Already Home". On September 14, 2009, BET premiered their Rising Icons profile of Kid Cudi. During the 30 minute show Cudi performed "CuDi Zone", "Mr. Solo Dolo", "Day 'n' Nite" and "Make Her Say". Cudi also discussed his childhood, his move to New York to begin his career as an artist and more.

Cudi's debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day, was released on Universal Motown Records on September 15, 2009 and sold 104,419 copies in the first week and charted at number four. The album's lead single "Day 'n' Nite", Kid Cudi's greatest commercial success thus far, charted well in both the U.S. and in Europe. The second single released was "Make Her Say" (originally titled "I Poke Her Face"), which features a sample from Lady Gaga's hit single "Poker Face" and performances by Kanye West and Common. Common was also featured throughout the album, as the narrator.

In September 2009, Cudi co-headlined 50 Cent's "50 Fest" concert, along with fellow American rapper Wale. In a late 2009 interview, Cudi announced that the follow-up to his debut album would be a compilation album entitled Cudder and the Revolution of Evolution, which would have many collaborations. He stated he had already recorded songs with Snoop Dogg, Travis Barker, Clipse, Cage and Pharrell, and would also like to work with Drake, Green Day, Kings of Leon, Robin Thicke, the Killers and the Postal Service on the album. It was also rumored that Man on the Moon: The End of Day was followed up by a sequel titled Man on the Moon: The Ghost in the Machine and that the Man on the Moon series would be a trilogy. Kid Cudi was nominated for three 2010 Grammy Awards, for his singles "Day 'n' Nite" and "Make Her Say".

In January 2010, Cudi released Man on the Moon: The End of Day's third and final single "Pursuit of Happiness", which was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA. In 2010, Cudi was featured on Snoop Dogg's re-release of Malice n Wonderland, titled More Malice, on the lead single "That Tree". Cudi later teamed up with independent artist Johnny Polygon, to remix Polygon's "The Riot Song", which appears on his mixtape Rebel Without Applause (2010). He was also invited to be a vocalist for the remake of the charity single "We Are the World" for its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti after the earthquake.

On April 20, 2010, Kid Cudi announced that the name of his second album would not be Cudder and the Revolution of Evolution, but a direct sequel to his first, titled Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.

On June 11, 2010, Kid Cudi was arrested in the Chelsea neighborhood of the Manhattan borough in New York City and charged with felony criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance. Despite his arrest, he was released and made it to Manchester, Tennessee in time to play at Bonnaroo.

In May 2010, American shoe company Converse, launched "You're It", a campaign which highlighted 23 artists from around the world in a series of web shorts. In his clip, Cudi returned Cleveland, Ohio. In June 2010, Converse teamed up Cudi, alongside Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij and Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, to produce the song titled "All Summer". In addition to collaborating on the track, each of the artists also participated in the creation of the music video, which was released later that summer.

The lead single from Cudi's second studio album, titled "Erase Me", features Kanye West and was produced by Jim Jonsin. The song debuted on a Cleveland radio station June 30, 2010, and was officially released to Rhythm/Crossover radio on August 17, 2010. The title-track "Mr. Rager", was released as the album's second single, shortly before the album's release. The album, released November 9, 2010, debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 169,000 copies. In its second week it crossed the 200,000 sales mark.

In 2010, Kid Cudi appeared on several songs for his mentor Kanye West's weekly free music giveaway GOOD Fridays; namely "Good Friday", "Christian Dior Denim Flow" and "The Joy", the latter of which later became a bonus track on the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011).

2011–2012: New direction with WZRD and Wicked Awesome

In October 2010, Cudi had announced that he would be forming a rock band with frequent collaborator Dot da Genius, tentatively called Wizard. In early 2011, he announced that he would be releasing a mixtape titled A Man Named Scott, reminiscent of his A Kid Named Cudi title, prior to the rock album. On February 26, 2011, Cudi took to his Twitter account to announce that Dream On, the record label he launched in 2009 with partners Patrick "Plain Pat" Reynolds and producer Emile Haynie, has been dissolved. However, in an interview with Complex Magazine Cudi explained they were all still on good terms: "I wanted to try something new, and I wanted to take control of things myself. Those are still my guys, Pat and Emile, and I'm still going to work with them in the future. When we start working on Man on the Moon III I'll be calling them up to see if they want to be a part of it. I know Emile is definitely down. We had an issue, but we're men and we were able to figure it out and move forward. There's no hard feelings."

In March 2011, Cudi announced that a music video for "Marijuana" would be released in the spring, followed by a music video for "Mr. Rager" in the summer, then he would release a short film, directed by Shia LaBeouf, inspired by his song "Maniac", with Cage, in October 2011. In April 2011, while performing at New York City's Roseland Ballroom Kid Cudi announced he was launching his own record label. The new label, which he will be releasing his third studio album on is called Wicked Awesome Records. He also renamed his band on the same occasion to 2 Be Continuum, renaming it from the original Wizard. Kid Cudi explained his reasoning saying: "I needed something more original, something different, but it's still wizardry at its finest." In 2011, Cudi landed a songwriting placement on English singer Natalia Kills' debut album Perfectionist, for the song "Free".

On August 12, 2011, Kid Cudi released the music video for "No One Believes Me", directed by Fright Night director Craig Gillespie. The song, produced by Dot da Genius, features Cudi singing and contains elements of rock music. On August 21, Cudi announced that he would no longer be releasing the A Man Named Scott mixtape, so that he can focus on his rock project and his third solo album Man on the Moon III. Kid Cudi released the music video for his second album's title-track "Mr. Rager", on September 8, 2011. The video received all-positive reviews from critics and fans alike.

Despite saying he will not do many more features for other artists in Complex magazine's October/November 2011 cover story, Cudi appeared on Bryan Greenberg's second album We Don't Have Forever (2011), Travis Barker's solo debut Give the Drummer Some (2011), the Knux's Eraser (2011), and Wale's Ambition (2011), respectively. On October 30, 2011, Cudi released Maniac, a short horror film co-starring fellow American rapper Cage and directed by American actor Shia LaBeouf, through his blog. On November 13, 2011, a previously unreleased demo tape Cudi had recorded from 2002 to 2003, under the pseudonym Kid Mesc, titled Rap Hard, leaked online. On Twitter, Cudi wrote "I actually never wanted anyone to hear those songs ever, but its cool. Ha"

On November 18, 2011, Cudi renamed his band for the second time to WZRD (pronounced: w-z-r-d). He also announced that the upcoming rock project would be released on his 28th birthday, January 30, 2012. In late 2011, Cudi was mentioned in a viral video by vlogger Ben Breedlove, about his near death experiences. After Breedlove's death on December 26, 2011, Cudi commented on his thoughts about inspiring the young kid. "I am so sad about Ben Breedlove", Kid Cudi wrote on his Tumblr blog. "I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart. I broke down, I am to tears because I hate how life is so unfair. This has really touched my heart in a way I cant describe, this is why I do what I do. Why I write my life, and why I love you all so much. Life is really fucked up sometimes, but I know Ben is at Peace, and I hope he gets a chance to sit and talk with my Dad. We love you Ben. Forever. Thank you for loving me. To Ben's family, you raised a real hero, he's definitely mine. You have my love."

In January 2012, Cudi appeared on two songs from Chip tha Ripper's mixtape Tell Ya Friends, "Ride 4 You" which also featured Far East Movement and "GloryUs", which credited the duo as they are collectively known, The Almighty GloryUs. This led to speculation that a long-awaited project from the two was underway. On January 31, Cudi announced through his Twitter feed that he had completed WZRD and that his next album was the collaborative effort with Chip tha Ripper. In 2012, Cudi was featured on the soundtrack to the film The Hunger Games, crafting an original song for the film titled "The Ruler and the Killer". Referring to "The Ruler and the Killer", Cudi wrote on his Twitter feed: "I could not have done it without my producing partners on the project for the film, The legendary and Godly T Bone Burnett and Greg Wells!"

While working on the band's self-titled debut, Cudi claimed he had writer's block for almost five months because of his new sobriety; something that had never happened to him for such an extended period of time. According to Cudi, bands that inspired the album include Electric Light Orchestra, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana and Pink Floyd. The album includes a song titled "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?", a cover of the same titled song by Nirvana, who in turn were inspired by blues guitar legend Lead Belly's rendition of the traditional folk song. Following WZRD's release on February 28, 2012, the album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 66,000 physical and digital copies in the United States. The album also debuted on the Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums at number one, and at number nine on the Canadian Albums Chart respectively.

2012–2013: Indicud and departure from GOOD Music

In April 2012, in Geneseo, New York, Cudi performed before a sold-out crowd and premiered a hip-hop song, his first since 2010. During his set, he performed a new record, tentatively titled "The Leader of the Delinquents", which he did a cappella. On April 25, 2012 Cudi was officially back to rapping with the release of "Dennis, Hook Me Up with Some More of That Whiskey!". The song, the first ever solely produced by Cudi himself, samples his 2010 song "Ghost!". In June 2012, Cudi was seen in the music video for "Mercy", the lead single from GOOD Music's compilation album Cruel Summer, in which he, along with other GOOD Music recording artists were featured on. Cudi was ultimately featured on two songs from the compilation, "The Morning" and a solo track originally meant for Man on the Moon II (2010), titled "Creepers", produced by Dan Black.

In the summer of 2012, Cudi announced the title of his third studio album to be, Indicud when he tweeted: "My new album is entitled indicud, it will be my version of The Chronic 2001, some songs i'll produce, others i'll feat &/or play songwriter". On June 8, 2012, Cudi announced Indicud, will be a double-disc album. On August 12, Kid Cudi released the lead single from Indicud, a song titled "Just What I Am", featuring his friend and longtime collaborator King Chip (formerly Chip tha Ripper). The album was announced to be released in early 2013 with Cudi focusing on scoring movies, followed by the third installment of the Man on the Moon series.

Cudi then added that Indicud "will feature more uptempos and that it will consist of at most 17 new songs." The music video for "Just What I Am", which marked Cudi's directorial debut, premiered November 6, 2012 on VEVO and was shot in Los Angeles with fans invited to participate in the video's shoot. On November 7, he revealed the album's second official single's title to be "Immortal", and that it again was produced by himself like the two previous releases, "Just What I Am" and "King Wizard". He claimed the song "will make you feel amazing in the heart and soul." The song was officially released via iTunes on March 14, 2013.

On March 14, 2013 Kid Cudi performed at MySpace's South by Southwest (SXSW) secret show in Austin, Texas and after performing his many hits, he previewed a new verse from Indicud. He also revealed that the album would feature 18 tracks, while officially confirming ASAP Rocky and Michael Bolton as featured guests. On March 16, Cudi announced that he would release the album's tracklist and cover art on April 2. Three days later, Kid Cudi announced via Twitter that the album had officially been completed and turned in to his label, Universal Republic. On March 26, the album's cover art and tracklist was unveiled by Walmart and later Complex. Later that day, Cudi appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and performed the album's lead singles; "Just What I Am" and "Immortal", as well as premiering "Mad Solar", which he performed a cappella.

On April 2, 2013, Kid Cudi announced on Power 106, that he was no longer under Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint. Cudi revealed he left the label on good terms, with him saying West respected his decision and will always be "big brother". Cudi's decision to move forward without West, was his desire to focus on his own imprint, Wicked Awesome Records and his friend, fellow rapper King Chip. After Indicud leaked online in its entirety on April 9, 2013, Kid Cudi decided to push the album's release date up to April 16. The album debuted at number two on the chart by moving 140,000 copies. In late 2013, Kid Cudi toured in support of Indicud on The Cud Life Tour 2013. The tour was announced on July 15 with tickets going on sale the following day. Supporting acts on the tour included fellow American rappers Big Sean, Tyler, The Creator and Logic.

2013–2014: Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon

While on tour, on October 16, 2013 Kid Cudi announced he would be releasing an extended play (EP), sometime in the next three months. Cudi also revealed he would be producing it alongside Dot da Genius and that frequent collaborator King Chip, would appear on the EP. He then called the EP a prelude to his fourth album Man on the Moon III, which he announced would be released in 2015. On October 19, 2013, Cudi revealed "Going to the Ceremony", a song he had released via online audio distribution platform SoundCloud, earlier in July, would be included in the EP. Cudi revealed a remix of his hit single "Day 'n' Nite, which was briefly previewed on the intro of his 2008 breakout mixtape A Kid Named Cudi, would also appear on the EP.

2010–2019: Early venture and minor roles

In 2010, Kid Cudi made a guest appearance on American television drama One Tree Hill, starring as himself and performing his Man on the Moon II single "Erase Me", during the episode. In 2010, Kid Cudi also began starring in the HBO comedy series How to Make It in America, as part of the main cast, being credited by his birth name Scott Mescudi, until its cancellation after two seasons. On October 31, 2010, Kid Cudi released a short film, directed by Shia LaBeouf, in which he and fellow American rapper Cage, star as French-speaking serial killers. The short film, titled Maniac, was inspired by Cudi's song "Maniac" from his 2010 album Man on the Moon II, and is an homage to the 1992 Belgian black comedy crime mockumentary, Man Bites Dog. In May 2012, Kanye West premiered a short film he directed, titled Cruel Summer, at the Cannes Film Festival. According to MTV, Kid Cudi is the lead character, playing a "car thief who falls for a blind Arabian princess". The film was shown on seven different screens that turned on and off, giving various angles of each shot.

In October 2012, it was announced Cudi would star in an indie romantic comedy titled Two Night Stand, alongside Analeigh Tipton and Miles Teller. Also in 2012, it was revealed Cudi would star in an indie thriller film titled Tacoma, alongside Patricia Clarkson. In 2013, Cudi guest starred in the animated TV series The Cleveland Show, voicing a character named Devon, in the Season 4 episode "Brownsized". In 2013, he also guest starred on the FOX comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, where he played a criminal named Dustin Whitman. In 2013, it was revealed Cudi would then star in Goodbye World, alongside Adrian Grenier.

In January 2013, Cudi was cast in the film adaptation of Need for Speed. Need for Speed, which is Cudi's feature film debut, was released by Touchstone Pictures on March 14, 2014. In June 2013, it was revealed Cudi would appear in Mark Webber's film The Ever After, alongside Teresa Palmer and Melissa Leo. On November 10, 2014, Cudi guest starred on the CBS American television series Scorpion, as Peyton Temple, a musical prodigy who created a controversial algorithm that generates the perfect hit pop song, who later helps Scorpion investigate the murder of his friend who was a music industry blogger. In February 2014, it was announced Cudi would appear in Entourage (2015), the film adaptation of the popular HBO series Entourage.

On April 11, 2014, it was announced Cudi would star in a film titled James White, alongside Christopher Abbott and Cynthia Nixon. In addition to starring in the film, it was revealed Cudi would also be curating the film's score as well. In January 2015, Cudi revealed he played a homosexual character in James White: "This was way different than anything else I've ever done. It was dope to do that. I felt like I had a responsibility to present a different walk in life from that world." Although his character's sexuality is not outwardly discussed during the film, the original script included a coming-out scene and a kiss between Cudi and a male friend, played by David Call: "I didn't flinch. I'm secure with mine," Cudi told an audience after the film's premiere. "I'm an artist—it's all about playing characters that are intriguing and stimulating."

Also in January 2015, Cudi revealed he had just finished filming a movie titled Vincent-N-Roxxy, alongside Zoe Kravitz and Emile Hirsch. When speaking on Vincent-N-Roxxy, Cudi said: "this movie that I have coming out soon that's my first villain role. It's very violent and very disturbing [...] I play kind of like a drug lord." Cudi took over the mic duties for Reggie Watts, on IFC's television series, Comedy Bang! Bang! on July 10, 2015. As the in-house disc jockey, Cudi crafted original music for the show and appeared in several skits throughout season four. The December 10 Christmas edition of Comedy Bang! Bang!, marked the season finale and Cudi's final episode as bandleader.

In July 2016, it was announced Cudi would join the cast of FOX's Empire, debuting in the third season of the series as "an independent musician who is a rival to Hakeem (Bryshere "Yazz" Gray) both in the studio and in life." Cudi later left the project due to creative differences. In 2017, Cudi appeared in the comedy film Killing Hasselhoff.

In 2019, Cudi had small roles in Drunk Parents, directed by Fred Wolf, and Jexi directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the latter of which he played himself. That year he also had a recurring role in sci-fi western and dystopian series Westworld.

Other ventures

Fashion

In September 2009, Japanese clothing company BAPE printed Cudi's likeness on T-shirts. In 2021, Cudi and BAPE collaborated on a series 20 pieces logos and other things.

In February 2011, Kid Cudi announced a collaboration with Parisian brand Surface to Air. In the fall of 2011, he released a leather jacket collection in collaboration with the fashion label.

In August 2014, Giuseppe Zanotti designed an exclusive sneaker inspired by Kid Cudi's style.

In February 2019, Kid Cudi partnered with French fashion brand A.P.C. The capsule collection included denim, sneakers, and t-shirts.

Kid Cudi announced a partnership with Adidas in March 2019. On December 10, 2020, Cudi unveiled his Adidas sneakers. They are the self-named VADAWAM 326's that were released on December 17, 2020.

On May 20, 2020, Kid Cudi announced he was partnering with American designer Virgil Abloh, to release an exclusive "Leader of the Delinquents" t-shirt. The design on the black and white "PULLING STRINGS" t-shirt features Kid Cudi puppeteering a smaller version of himself, hence the name of the t-shirt release. The art is meant to reference Cudi's infamous TMZ moment from 2012, in which he posed like the puppet on the shirt. "Leader of the Delinquents" is written across the back of the t-shirt in text reminiscent of Jean-Michel Basquiat's handwriting.

Just hours before releasing his long-awaited Man on the Moon III album, Cudi rolled out a small batch of merchandise in support of the album. The range was made in collaboration with Cactus Plant Flea Market, and consists of short- and long-sleeve T-shirts, pullover hoodies, and sweatpants—all of which feature graphics that reference MOTM3 tracks.

In April 2021, Kid Cudi performed on Saturday Night Live wearing a floral-print sundress, created by Virgil Abloh. On April 11, Cudi confirmed that he would have an upcoming collection with Italian luxury fashion label Off-White, with the floral dress serving as one of the pieces.

In late April 2021, it was revealed Kid Cudi had teamed up with the NFL to release a limited-edition Starter jacket commemorating the 2021 NFL draft, which took place in Cudi's hometown of Cleveland.

In June 2023, Cudi collaborated with American art collective MSCHF to release sneakers, which Cudi previewed during his headlining performance at Lyrical Lemonade's Summer Smash Festival in Chicago.

MOTR

On January 26, 2021, Kid Cudi announced on Twitter that he would be starting his own clothing line and the first pieces would be available sometime in 2021. In February 2022, Cudi launched his very own clothing line called MOTR, pronounced "motor" and an acronym for "Members of the RAGE". The clothing line is described as a fusion of "90s grunge with the soul of hip hop and

elements from a distant future." Its UFO logo was co-designed by Cudi and Japanese fashion designer Nigo, while the retro-inspired website was designed by Cudi himself. The first piece that was issued was a t-shirt created in collaboration with Nigo's Human Made. Created for NBA All-Star Weekend, the shirt comes in white and features the MOTR logo in Cleveland Cavaliers colors and the Earth replaced with a basketball. On September 21, 2022, Cudi announced that his MOTR fashion line, will debut at Paris Fashion Week 2023. He also revealed the line is all-unisex pieces, produced "in Italy and parts of Europe"; additionally the line will also feature sneakers. After launching the line in Paris, Vogue wrote "hip-hop culture, retro-inflected futurism, Japanese street fashion and a general embrace of grunge are all brewing in his extroverted, Gen Z-leaning lineup." On July 27, 2023, Cudi launched MOTR at the London department store, Selfridges. At the release, he spoke with Highsnobiety about how the brand came together. Cudi says the late Virgil Abloh and his Off-White brand served as an inspiration for the effort.

Modeling

In 2010, Cudi modeled for a campaign run by American fashion house Calvin Klein. In January 2015, Coach, Inc. announced Kid Cudi as the new face of their brand, along with actress Chloë Grace Moretz, to front its Spring campaign. In September 2021, Cudi partnered with Cadillac, for the campaign for their 2023 Lyriq. In January 2022, Cudi modeled for the Levi Strauss & Co. campaign titled "The Number That Changed Everything". In March 2022, Cudi was featured in a jewelry-focused campaign from French fashion house Louis Vuitton. The LV Volt campaign sees Cudi, Alicia Vikander and Jin Chen, modeling a range of pieces from the unisex collection. In August 2023, American fashion house Calvin Klein officially launched its Fall 2023 campaign, adding Kid Cudi as one of their new ambassador features. Modeling for Calvin Klein, Cudi posted a picture of himself posing in front of a Manhattan billboard on Twitter, with the caption: "I always walked past this billboard and dreamed of being up there one day. This is unreal. I remember I mentioned I realllly wanted this billboard at the shoot and they told me, 'we'll see.' Thank u @calvinklein for makin another dream of mine come true."

Dream On

Dream On was an American record label founded in 2009, by Cudi alongside his managers at the time, Patrick Reynolds and Emile Haynie. In February 2011, Cudi announced the label had been dissolved. The label released the first two installments of Cudi's Man on the Moon series.

Wicked Awesome Records

Wicked Awesome Records is an American record label founded by Cudi in 2011. It is distributed by Republic Records. In a 2013 interview, Cudi said "Wicked Awesome was there officially when I did WZRD. That was the first project that I did on Wicked Awesome and it was an outlet for me to just branch out on my own, and creatively and business-wise take things to a different space for me. Wicked Awesome..where do I see it going? Right now it's just the music but who knows? Wicked Awesome is maybe gunna be beyond music it could be movies, it could be a lot of things, producing T.V. shows. Just the name I think is really dope it has a ring to it." Cudi continued, explaining the motivation behind his label. "The whole motivation is just bringing authenticity back to the forefront. Bringing real content, bringing real emotion [...] Wicked Awesome is about being a real human being, making real music, talking about real things that people deal with on a day-to-day basis." In January 2021, Cudi tweeted that he is prepared to sign artists and producers.

Mad Solar

On November 17, 2020, it was revealed Cudi teamed with Dennis Cummings and Karina Manashil to found production and music management company Mad Solar, with the backing of Bron Studios, which provides corporate back office and production support, including financing, marketing, and sales. In a statement Cudi said, "Beyond excited to be launching my production company Mad Solar and partnering with Bron, whose creative vision and storytelling has transformed the industry." Mad Solar has produced the Netflix animated special Entergalactic, which Cudi co-created alongside Kenya Barris. Additionally, Mad Solar teamed with A24 and Bron Studios on the horror film X. Written and directed by Ti West, X stars Mia Goth, Cudi and Jenna Ortega. Cudi served as an executive producer on the film, which began production in early 2021.

Encore Music Technologies

In October 2020, it was announced Cudi teamed with screenwriter Ian Edelman and startup veteran Jonathan Gray to launch Encore Music Technologies, a mobile-based platform to help artists monetize their connections with fans. Earlier in 2020, Encore closed a $2 million seed round led by global investment firm Battery Ventures.

In 2022, it was revealed Encore Studio was backed by $9 million funding led by Battery Ventures along with investments from 468 Capital, Parade Ventures, Nomad Ventures, Moving Capital, Kayak Ventures, and Gaingels.

Memoir

In September 2022, Cudi revealed that he had begun working on his memoir. It was released in August 2025. The book debuted at number four on the Publishers Weekly Bestseller List selling 8,028 units in its first week.

Comic

During New York Comic Con 2023, it was revealed that Cudi would be teaming up with writer Kyle Higgins to make his comic writing debut with the series Moon Man. Cudi and Higgins write the series, with art and colors being provided by Marco Locati and Igor Monti respectively. A collaboration between Cudi's Mad Solar and Higgins' Black Market Narrative and published by Image Comics, the series revolves around Ramon Townsend, an astronaut from Cleveland who, following a mission that almost killed him and his crew, begins to develop abilities and becomes the world's first superhero. The series was anticipated to launch in January 2024 and to be accompanied by a mixtape composed by Cudi.

Cudi and Higgins debuted the first issue of Moon Man on January 31, 2024. The comic series launched to immediate commercial success, with Image Comics reporting that the first issue had sold out to high demand and outpaced distributor supply, thus prompting an urgent reprint. The second issue was released on April 17, 2024, and the third issue followed on July 10, 2024. On the same day that the third issue released, Cudi also released "Dreams I See", a single intended to support the issue's launch.

Mental health

In a 2013 interview, Cudi revealed he had suffered an addiction to anti-depressant medication, which had been prescribed to help him deal with an "emotional breakdown" after a failed relationship. Cudi has been open about his addiction to pharmaceuticals in his music, namely the songs "Dr. Pill" and "The Nothing". In a 2014 interview, Cudi spoke on his struggles with depression and suicidal ideation: "I've dealt with suicide for the past five years. There wasn't a week or a day that didn't go by where I was just like, 'You know, I wanna check out.' I know what that feels like, I know it comes from loneliness, I know it comes from not having self-worth, not loving yourself."

In a July 2016 interview, Kid Cudi revealed he suffered from survivor guilt: "I didn't like that I had money and success and I had made it. Everybody I had ever met in my life, good people, weren't able to experience the same, and I wasn't able to truly enjoy my success. Even though I worked hard for it, it bothered me that I had just had so much and my friends didn't."

In October 2016, Cudi revealed on his Facebook page that he had checked himself into rehabilitation for depression and suicidal urges. In an August 2022 interview with Esquire, Cudi spoke on how two weeks after being admitted to rehab in 2016, he had suffered a stroke, revealing the incident forced him to spend the next few months in physical rehabilitation.

Family

On March 26, 2010, Cudi's daughter, Vada Wamwene Mescudi, was born. Throughout 2012, Cudi was in a custody battle over his daughter. Reports surfaced that Cudi gave up custody after his child's mother accused him of being an absentee father, as well as having violent tendencies and a "long history of consistent drug and alcohol abuse." These claims were disputed by Cudi and his attorney in a statement, which noted: "Cudi did not give up custody but reached an amicable agreement with the mother; that 'both parents are fit and proper persons to have custody of their child,' as stated in the final custody judgment; results came back negative for drugs in a drug test voluntarily taken by Cudi; and that the court acknowledged Cudi attempted to establish a relationship and visit his child since her birth and "voluntarily provided financial support, including child support, rent and other monthly payments, for his daughter since her birth until the time that a child support order was entered as part of the normal course of the case." Details of the official custody agreement remain private. Cudi has since purchased a property in Chicago to be close to his daughter.

Relationships

In 2009, Cudi began dating entertainment attorney Jamie Baratta. They were in an on-again, off-again relationship, and were a prominent couple in the music industry. They ultimately broke up in 2012, but not before Cudi dedicated a song to her titled "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie", which he recorded as a member of the alternative rock duo, WZRD. In 2020, Cudi wrote "Sept. 16", a song titled after the birthdate of his girlfriend at the time, costume designer and actress Raquel Deriane, to whom the song is dedicated.

According to a 2023 lawsuit filed by Cassie Ventura against her former partner Sean Combs, Ventura dated Cudi in or around 2012, resulting in Combs threatening Ventura that he would "blow up [Cudi's] car." Cudi confirmed that soon after this threat, his car had exploded.

In 2024, Cudi announced via Instagram that he was engaged to designer Lola Abecassis Sartore. The two were married on June 28, 2025, in Èze, France.

Religious beliefs

In a January 2013 interview, Cudi said that he believes in God but does not follow an organized religion. He considers himself spiritual but not religious.